I'm not sure who all remembers this, but when PJ Fleck was hired by Western Michigan in 2012 he came in and rescinded every scholarship offer (class of '13) and committed player Western Michigan had at that point. What he did was particularly brutal because A) it was basically two weeks before February signing day, B) there was no early signing period to protect an athlete's commitment, and C) it's Western Michigan and who the hell is lining up to go play there.
There's a pretty good article from right after this took place here - https://usatodayhss.com/2013/new-co...ant-you-is-first-thing-indy-area-recruit-told
In the article Tom Lemming is wringing his hands because of what took place and how it was conducted. He wondered if it was going to come back and bite Fleck after burning all these bridges. How was Fleck's recruiting impacted?
- 2014 - best recruiting class in school history; top in the conference; highest among G5 schools
- 2015 - best class in conference - i believe he finished 36th nationally
- 2016 - best class in conference
- 2017 - best class in conference
Now I'm not saying things are exactly the same between WMU then and UF now - there is a lot left the figure out with this class. I'm also not saying PJ Fleck is some recruiting/coaching savant that should be idolized. As a Hawkeye by marriage, I honestly think he's corny as shit. However, I think it helps to have some historical context while we're in the middle of the churn.
Final though on this thread is an amazing quote by Fleck in the linked article above:
“I know if it was me, I would be ticked,” Fleck said of the players who had scholarship offers pulled. “I also know if it was me, I would have showed up in the office of the head football coach, telling him I was dying to still be here.”
There's a pretty good article from right after this took place here - https://usatodayhss.com/2013/new-co...ant-you-is-first-thing-indy-area-recruit-told
In the article Tom Lemming is wringing his hands because of what took place and how it was conducted. He wondered if it was going to come back and bite Fleck after burning all these bridges. How was Fleck's recruiting impacted?
- 2014 - best recruiting class in school history; top in the conference; highest among G5 schools
- 2015 - best class in conference - i believe he finished 36th nationally
- 2016 - best class in conference
- 2017 - best class in conference
Now I'm not saying things are exactly the same between WMU then and UF now - there is a lot left the figure out with this class. I'm also not saying PJ Fleck is some recruiting/coaching savant that should be idolized. As a Hawkeye by marriage, I honestly think he's corny as shit. However, I think it helps to have some historical context while we're in the middle of the churn.
Final though on this thread is an amazing quote by Fleck in the linked article above:
“I know if it was me, I would be ticked,” Fleck said of the players who had scholarship offers pulled. “I also know if it was me, I would have showed up in the office of the head football coach, telling him I was dying to still be here.”
